DENOTIFIED, NOMADIC AND SEMI NOMADIC TRIBES

1. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) emphasised the importance of executing the recommendations of the Idate Commission report.
2. Idate Commission or the National Commission for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (DNTS) was constituted in 2014 under Bhiku Ramji Idate.
3. The commission was mandated to compile a state-wise list of Denotified Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (DNTs), identify DNTs not included in SCs/STs or OBC lists, recommend measures for their welfare, etc. 

About DNTS

1. They are also known as 'Vimukt Jatis’. These communities are among the most vulnerable and disadvantaged.

2. The suffering of these groups started when the British government introduced the Criminal Tribes Act in 1871.

• These communities were notified as criminals under this Act.
• They were forcibly alienated from their traditional occupations and habitations through other subsequent legislation.

3. They were oppressed, mistreated, and ignored. The British government's rules negatively impacted their daily lives and jobs.
4. They continued to live as hunter-gatherers and nomadic herders.
5. Though the Indian Government stopped treating them as criminals in 1952 (repealed the act) they still face big problems.
6. They missed out on the government support that groups like the SCs/STs received.
7. They’re not on any official list that would help them get government benefits, and they’re often left out of programs meant to help people. Many of them don’t go to school and lack basic things like clean water, places to live, and medical care.

Efforts to improve conditions of DNTS:

1. Efforts were made to integrate these communities into the mainstream.
2. The first commission to address their issues was established in October 2003, the Renke Commission was formed in 2008.
3. Development and Welfare Board for DNTs established in 2021 for a period of 3 years (extendable up to 5 years).
4. Scheme for Economic Empowerment of DNTs (SEED) for educational empowerment, health insurance, livelihoods and housing.

Recommendations of the Idate Commission

1. Assign DNTs not included in SCs/STs/OBCs list should be listed as OBCs.
2. Enhance legal and constitutional safeguards by including a 3^rd schedule in Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
3. Establish permanent commission for the DNTs, SNTs, and NTs.
4. Establish a separate department for their welfare in the states with their seizable populations.
5. Undertake a thorough survey of DNT families to determine their estimated numbers and distribution.

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